


A Bruised Head and a Warm Heart

by holtzy_baby



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: As always Ryan is confused and Graham is a caring dad, Bumped Head, Comfort, Cuddles, Emotional Support, F/F, Fluff, Injury, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 13:23:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18621505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holtzy_baby/pseuds/holtzy_baby
Summary: When the Doctor bangs her head on the TARDIS console and manages to knock herself unconscious, it’s up to Yaz, Ryan and Graham to help the clumsy alien.Or: The Doctor is a clumsy mess and Yaz is hopelessly in love.





	A Bruised Head and a Warm Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I love this ship so I can’t help but keep writing for it. Something’s got to get us through until 2020!
> 
> As I think many of my fics will, this ended up slightly angstyer than I initially intended! I find it hard not to delve deeper when I’m able to borrow such complex and brilliant characters! 
> 
> It also wouldn’t be one of my fics if there wasn’t couch cuddling at the end and a very confused Ryan Sinclair ;)

* * *

 

The familiar clunk of skin on metal sounded through the TARDIS making all three companions wince.

 

“I’m fine! I’m fine. Just a bump,” the Doctor said as she tried blink away the haze of pain. From beside the Doctor, Yaz just stared in shock at the bump that was slowly swelling on her forehead. The time lord had been under the TARDIS’ console tinkering again and had jumped with excitement, smacking her head on the machinery. There was a small cut in the middle of the bump lightly bleeding. It looked painful.

 

“Definitely not fine,” Yaz amended as Ryan and Graham came over from the across the console. The Doctor tried to stand up, to prove she was alright, but it was a dire mistake.

 

She felt her stomach lurch with wooziness and the lights of the TARDIS began a shaky rotation. It felt like she was on air as she stumbled back.

 

“Doctor!” Yaz’ arms were the last thing she could recall before everything went black. Yes, perhaps worse than she thought.

 

Yaz stared in shock at the unconscious alien in her lap. “She’s actually passed out. What do we do!?” She stared at the men stood in front of them, equally stunned.

 

“Shall we lay her down? Properly?”

 

“I don’t think that will actually help,” Yaz stared. “Does it make a difference? To the injury? Or do they just do it so people won’t fall?”

 

“Sounds like the last part...” Graham sighed. “How about an ice-pack!”

 

Ryan’s face lit up. “There’s some in the freezer! I’ll get some.” He disappeared in a flash, delving deep into the TARDIS’ tunnels in search of the kitchen.

 

“Doctor?” Yasmin said in the meantime. She manoeuvred her a little so she was mostly laying- they’d decided it couldn’t hurt, and her head was on her lap. Yaz’s thumb was on her cheekbone, rubbing it softly as she called her.

 

Graham just watched helplessly. At least they weren’t travelling, he supposed. They’d landed on a small planet made entirely of purple grass meadows a few hours ago. They were just about to set off when the Doctor had decided the TARDIS console needed to immediately be tinkered with.

 

Ryan arrived a moment later with an ice-pack covered with a clean tea-towel. He passed it to Yasmin and she nodded her thanks as she adjusted it and then carefully lowered it to the Doctor’s bump. She didn’t know if it would help her wake up at all but she knew they needed to do something about the angry bump. Luckily the cut hadn’t bled much, the bleeding mostly constrained to the bump itself.

 

A couple of minutes later, when everyone had sat down and lost hope, Yaz felt movement in her lap. She looked down and sure enough, the Doctor was shifting her arm- clearly not happy with its position, and her eyelashes were rising.

 

“Doctor?” She said softly. Ryan and Graham looked up with a start.

 

The Doctor winced and tried to sit up but stopped as the throbbing in her head got a hundred times worse.

 

“Hey, give it a sec. You’re okay.” Yaz properly peered down so the Doctor could meet her eye. The Doctor relaxed slightly, knowing that she was in Yaz’ lap and clearly whatever had happened was under control.

 

“I smacked my head didn’t I?”

 

Yaz laughed softly. “You did.”

 

“And knocked myself out?” She glanced over at Graham and Ryan.

 

“Yup.” Ryan said, relieved she was already seeming back to her cheery self.

 

“I’m terribly clumsy with this new TARDIS. It’s all her fault.” The TARDIS made a whirr of protest, making the companions chuckle.

 

“I find it hard to believe you weren’t clumsy before she renovated.” Yaz smiled.

“Oi, you.” The Doctor looked up and met Yaz’s eyes fondly. She suddenly realised that she was in Yaz’ lap. She could feel a soft weight on her shoulder and a comforting warmth on her cheek. Her hands. It was suddenly quite intimate and the Doctor felt a little speechless by the level of tenderness that had seemingly been offered to her. It took her a long time to trust and even longer to be trusted, she felt. She felt her eyes grow teary and tried to blink the overwhelming thought away. That wouldn’t do.

 

“Your head must be killing,” Yaz exclaimed, noting the teariness in the Doctor’s eyes. She didn’t comment on them aloud as she thought she deserved at least a little privacy. The Doctor looked at her gratefully.

 

“Would you like some paracetamol, Doc?” Graham asked.

 

“Yes. There should be some in the console room. I had her build herself a medicine cabinet closer than the med-bay just in case.”

 

“You have a med-bay?” Yaz gaped. Perhaps that should have been the first choice.

 

“Yes. I probably should have mentioned that during the initial tour. Maybe we’ll redo the tour with all of the important places, not just my favourites...” She smiled sheepishly. She still hadn’t moved from Yaz’ lap. Her head in all honesty was absolutely killing but she was trying to distract herself with conversation. And being with Yaz didn’t hurt. The woman’s presence always calmed her down.

 

Yasmin moved her hand from her cheek to stroke her hair instead, softly running her hands over it in a comforting motion. The Doctor couldn’t help but stare at her even as she was looking away. What did she do to deserve such brilliant humans in her life? She’d somehow always found the best ones.

 

Ryan came back with water and paracetamol, dropping down beside them.

 

“Do you want to try sit up, now?” Yaz asked.

 

“Why not, Yaz.”

 

With a bit of joint effort between the Doctor and Yaz, she was fully sitting. It was harder to mask her pain as it significantly intensified and she winced.

 

“Paracetamol. Now.” Yaz said with a kind firmness, rubbing her back.

 

The Doctor nodded and took two with a gulp of water. “Who knew a bump on the noggin’ could incapacitate you so much! Wild.”

 

“I feel like it’s got to be one of the worst places to be injured...” Ryan added sympathetically.

 

The Doctor laughed softly and then sat quietly, waiting for the painkillers to kick in. Yaz didn’t stop rubbing her back and the Doctor gave into her instincts and shuffled closer, leaning into her side.

 

She always felt a youthful kind of excitement when she was close to Yaz. She questioned every movement, never asking for more contact but always wanting it. Yaz did seem to welcome their contact, however. Always with a shy smile as if she too, was testing the boundaries. It was fascinating and heartwarming and gut-wrenching all at once. She knew what it was like to offer her hearts- both of them because she could never just manage one- to someone who came into her life. And their time together was always cut short. From death, to new partners, to her companions deciding they wanted more than her. Than just her, she remembered, sadly. It was hard to be enough. She struggled everyday but a tiny part of her told her to keep trying. That as long as she was good and interesting that people would always want to be with her. She would never be alone.

 

“You’re very quiet,” Yaz said quietly, squeezing her shoulder with the hand that the Doctor hadn’t even noticed wrap around her back.

 

“Just thinking up a storm. You know how it is. Your head stops working so you just end up making it work harder.”

 

Yaz wasn’t sure that she did know, but she didn’t want to discredit what the Doctor had said. She’d been quiet for several minutes which was extremely strange for the woman. She was only ever quiet like this when she was overthinking or something that day had considerably upset her.

 

“You can’t be comfortable, shall we go to the lounge and chill out for a bit? Just us?” Yaz asked. She knew that Ryan and Graham wouldn’t mind being left alone. The Doctor’s quietness was likely concerning them too. It was clear she needed rest at the very least.

 

“That sounds fab.” The Doctor nodded with a soft smile. Yaz helped her up and with an explanation and a small wave to the boys, they headed down the hall.

 

As they entered the cosy lounge, Yasmin met the alien’s eye. “Are you gonna tell me what’s really bothering you now? Or do I have to figure it out in our next life threatening situation when you let it slip?”

 

The Doctor looked at her fondly as they sat down. That had happened a few times. They sat facing one another, not actually touching. Perhaps that would give the Doctor the clarity that she needed.

 

“I just- I get very fond of my humans,” She began a little wistfully. “And then they get their own lives. Eventually. Obviously. Of course. I- well, I wouldn’t expect anyone to stay with me forever. I’d obviously outlive them for one and the logistics of someone elderly travelling...”

 

Yaz took her hand. “You’re rambling...” She smiled softly. “But I think I might know where you’re going with it? Do you struggle... Have you struggled with losing people before? You come across as very wise and old- not in appearance obviously but in soul- and also you have this-this sadness. Like you’ve lost a lot. To me, anyway. I don’t know about the others. It has made me wonder before... Have things been very lonely?”

 

The Doctor looked down at her lap. She didn’t realise it was that transparent. She guessed it always had been. “Kinda hit the nail on the head there, Yaz. You always do, ya cleverclogs.” She smiled. “Yeah. It can be- it has been. I struggle because I’ve gotten so close to so many people over the centuries but I’ve never- I’ve never managed to keep them. I’ve never been able to. To have anyone stay. I-I lost my family. Everyone really on Gallifrey. That planet, well it died.” Yaz swallowed her gasp at the immensity of what the Doctor had just said. Was she the last of her kind? “...And then all my friends along the way. They’ve either died or they’ve found something... better. More permanent than me.”

 

“Better? I’m not sure how that’s possible.” Yaz tried to to overlook the rest of the heartbreaking things the Doctor was saying. She didn’t want to get distracted dwelling on her own worries for the time lord. She just wanted to make her feel better.

 

“Yes. Well, it’s all very new and exciting at the start. Travelling. Time-travelling. But as the years pass. As the relationships have grown, have fallen. I’ve never- I’ve never really been enough.”

 

“I find that absolutely impossible to believe,” Yaz said adamantly. “There must be something you’re missing here because I can tell you now, that’s not it. Doctor, you’re extraordinary. You’re unlike any person, any alien, any entity I’ve ever come across. And I know for a fact that if I could, I’d never look back if it meant I got to stay here, doing this with you.” Yaz paused and took in the warm expression on the Doctor’s face that she didn’t she could ever tire of. “And I don’t think I’m the first person to say that.”

 

The Doctor thought of Rose, trapped in another dimension. Of River in the library. Of Donna, not knowing the adventures she had partaken. She thought of Clara, her Impossible Girl. The woman who had given everything to support her. To unconditionally love her. Yaz was right. It wasn’t that she wasn’t enough. It had been awful circumstances each and every time.

 

“Maybe it isn’t me. Maybe it never was.” The Doctor stared past Yaz.

 

Yaz wished she could just hold the woman and protect her from any more pain but she knew it wasn’t possible. All she could do was comfort the quirky time lord and remind her just how extraordinary she was. “Bad things can happen. But you’re not a bad person. I’ve seen how people gravitate towards you. You could never not be enough.”

 

The Doctor stared and nodded. She felt that any words she could present would ruin the moment. That silent acknowledgment was the only thing that wouldn’t shatter the glass around them.

 

The time lord often fell down these self-doubt spirals and struggled to get out of their fogginess.“Thank you, Yaz. You’re always here when I have a little blip.”

 

“Self-doubt is only human. Gosh, sorry. Alien too, I presume. I need to expand our figures of speech. The point is- just try not to spiral. Just talk to one of us, yeah?”

 

The Doctor nodded. “Thank you. And I would travel with you forever too. For the record.”

 

Yaz felt her eyes water and she blinked away the emotion. She wasn’t sure if the Doctor truly meant it but she felt loved all the same.

 

“Now where did all this glum stuff come from!” The Doctor exclaimed as if it hadn’t been her all along. “Let’s cuddle up and eat some biscuits. We could ask the boys too?”

 

Yaz smiled. “That sounds great.”

 

Half an hour later and Yaz and the Doctor were snuggled up on one couch, Ryan and Graham sat on the other. Ryan glanced at the two women every so often with curiosity. The Doctor was sat with her legs arched across Yaz’s lap with their blanket across them and her forehead- her good side- properly tucked into Yasmin’s neck. It was clear by their stance that Yasmin had her arms around her too.

 

As he watched his childhood friend plant a kiss on the Doctor’s temple, just left of her bump, his brow furrowed but he swallowed his suspicions. He made a decision to wait for the most inconvenient time possible to ask how long they’d been dating. He smirked to himself and looked back at the tv. Soon.

* * *


End file.
